Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 98
Reading 1
God did not make death,
nor does he rejoice in the destruction of the living.
For he fashioned all things that they might have being;
and the creatures of the world are wholesome,
and there is not a destructive drug among them
nor any domain of the netherworld on earth,
for justice is undying.
For God formed man to be imperishable;
the image of his own nature he made him.
But by the envy of the devil, death entered the world,
and they who belong to his company experience it.
Responsorial Psalm
R.
(2a) I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
I will extol you, O LORD, for you drew me clear
and did not let my enemies rejoice over me.
O LORD, you brought me up from the netherworld;
you preserved me from among those going down into the pit.
R. I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
Sing praise to the LORD, you his faithful ones,
and give thanks to his holy name.
For his anger lasts but a moment;
a lifetime, his good will.
At nightfall, weeping enters in,
but with the dawn, rejoicing.
R. I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
Hear, O LORD, and have pity on me;
O LORD, be my helper.
You changed my mourning into dancing;
O LORD, my God, forever will I give you thanks.
R. I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
Reading 2
Brothers and sisters:
As you excel in every respect, in faith, discourse,
knowledge, all earnestness, and in the love we have for you,
may you excel in this gracious act also.
For you know the gracious act of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that though he was rich, for your sake he became poor,
so that by his poverty you might become rich.
Not that others should have relief while you are burdened,
but that as a matter of equality
your abundance at the present time should supply their needs,
so that their abundance may also supply your needs,
that there may be equality.
As it is written:
Whoever had much did not have more,
and whoever had little did not have less.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Our Savior Jesus Christ destroyed death
and brought life to light through the Gospel.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
When Jesus had crossed
again in the boat
to the other side,
a large crowd gathered around him, and he stayed close to the sea.
One of the synagogue officials, named Jairus, came forward.
Seeing him he fell at his feet and pleaded earnestly with him, saying,
"My daughter is at the point of death.
Please, come lay your hands on her
that she may get well and live."
He went off with him,
and a large crowd followed him and pressed upon him.
There was a woman afflicted with hemorrhages for twelve years.
She had suffered greatly at the hands of many doctors
and had spent all that she had.
Yet she was not helped but only grew worse.
She had heard about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd
and touched his cloak.
She said, "If I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured."
Immediately her flow of blood dried up.
She felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction.
Jesus, aware at once that power had gone out from him,
turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who has touched my clothes?"
But his disciples said to Jesus,
"You see how the crowd is pressing upon you,
and yet you ask, 'Who touched me?'"
And he looked around to see who had done it.
The woman, realizing what had happened to her,
approached in fear and trembling.
She fell down before Jesus and told him the whole truth.
He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has saved you.
Go in peace and be cured of your affliction."
While he was still speaking,
people from the synagogue official's house arrived and said,
"Your daughter has died; why trouble the teacher any longer?"
Disregarding the message that was reported,
Jesus said to the synagogue official,
"Do not be afraid; just have faith."
He did not allow anyone to accompany him inside
except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James.
When they arrived at the house of the synagogue official,
he caught sight of a commotion,
people weeping and wailing loudly.
So he went in and said to them,
"Why this commotion and weeping?
The child is not dead but asleep."
And they ridiculed him.
Then he put them all out.
He took along the child's father and mother
and those who were with him
and entered the room where the child was.
He took the child by the hand and said to her, "Talitha
koum,"
which means, "Little girl, I say to you, arise!"
The girl, a child of twelve, arose immediately and walked around.
At that they were utterly astounded.
He gave strict orders that no one should know this
and said that she should be given something to eat.
MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS,
The Scripture Readings today are a reminder that when God created the world, it was perfect. Death was not a consideration. It was through us that the perfect became imperfect and our relationship with God was fundamentally changed forever. Our propensity to act like gods ourselves and to exercise our freewill instead of surrendering to what God wants for us leads to imperfection and disordered desires. God loves us so much that He constantly offers a solution to all our problems and situations that haunt us, but for us to be relieved from our burdens, there must be one thing present: a willingness to listen to Him.
The world today has the capability of drowning out the voice of God. In fact, it can be argued that this is by design. Methodically, the influence of God and of His Church have been reduced. In its place, society and people in positions of power have promoted self-reliance and self-will instead of a reliance on God. This has led to disastrous results both on a personal level and on a macro level. There has been a tremendous loss of morality and a lack of pursuit of a purpose-driven life constructed around virtuous living. This has opened the door to much suffering, which was not the intention of God. It can be argued that the removal of God causes a void. This void is then filled by evil.
To cure ourselves of any inflictions that we may have (physically, mentally, or spiritually), there must be a renewal of some sort. This must be centered around a recommitment to our faith and to our relationship with God. The Apostle Paul mentioned this in his Letter to the Romans:
“Do not conform yourselves to this age, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.”
It is through this discernment that we can gradually get back to an understanding of what God wants for us and how we should strengthen our relationship with Him through worship, prayer, and an open heart.
Paul continues in this observation today by reminding us that it is by modeling ourselves after the conduct of Jesus will open a pathway to a fulfilling life and true joy. Just as Jesus became poor so that we could become rich, we as Christians should be sharers in all the bountiful gifts that we may be in possession of to relieve the burdens of all those who we interact with. Subsequently, when we find ourselves suffering, relief will be given to us. Every interaction becomes a shared experience and a transformative experience. We all have the capability of being instruments of God’s peace by doing the will of Jesus Christ instead of our will.
Both Gospel stories today have a common theme: There was no need to fear. Faith alone has the capability to right all wrongs. Just as in the Parable of the Mustard Seed, we now see faith in action with Jesus. Through it, death has been conquered and a woman afflicted is cured. In each instance, Jesus emphasized that it was through faith that these things were done. When we welcome Jesus into our lives and accept His will over ours, we will encounter the same thing. Only good things can result. We will not be overcome by the burdens that we all carry, for He will then be able to help us carry them and ultimately overcome them. Nothing in this world is permanent. This means that, if we focus on the spiritual instead of the corporal, the corporal will always lose to the spiritual, for the spiritual is forever.
Jesus Christ offers us the opportunity to return to the perfect. It is through our relationship with Him that we can begin our journey back to that perfect state where we were created, where Jesus wanted us to always be in the first place. It is through that realization that we can start repairing the damage we have done to ourselves and those around us. Through this healing, life can then be experienced the way that God intended us to experience it in the first place.
Deacon Tom
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